The time to hand over has come. The Dean of the United States Senate Dianne Feinstein, historic figure of the Democratic Party in the United States, announced her political retirement on Tuesday after more than 30 years spent in this hemicycle.
Elected from California at the age of 89, Ms. Feinstein is recognized as a tenacious politician, who held a language of truth in the Republican Party as well as in her own camp. But for some years, she had been challenged by the left wing of her family, especially after a journalistic investigation which highlighted her cognitive decline.
“I am announcing today that I will not be running for re-election in 2024, but that I intend to accomplish as much as I can for California through the end of next year,” explained the octogenarian in a press release.
Biden hails a ‘close friend’
President Joe Biden praised the qualities of Dianne Feinstein, a “close friend”, referring in particular to her role as a pioneer for women in politics. “Often the only woman in the room, she was determined to lift America up,” he said in a statement, praising her “intelligence” and “empathy.”
Feinstein should thus leave the Senate at the age of 91. Before entering this institution, she had notably been mayor of San Francisco for ten years, after the assassination in 1978 of her predecessor George Moscone and the openly gay politician Harvey Milk.
In the Senate, she notably passed the ban – for ten years – on assault rifles in 1994. She also supported George W. Bush’s war in Iraq and established herself as an influential member of the information. His multi-thousand-page report exposing the CIA’s lies about torture in the “war on terror” has gone down in history.
Cognitive decline
The California senator has been a driving force in reviewing hundreds of laws during her career. “Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass laws that improve everyday life. Each of us was sent here to offer solutions,” she added in her statement. In recent years, the elected official has however nibbled away at her political capital because of persistent doubts about her consistency, often expressed by her own camp.
Former aides described bouts of mental confusion, reported in a New Yorker article in late 2020. His memory lapses also came to light around this time during the hearing of ex-Twitter boss Jack Dorsey, in front of the Senate: she asked him the same question, word for word, twice in a row.
Since the pandemic, this widow who lost her husband in early 2022 limited her public appearances outside of Congress. “California and the nation owe a great deal to Senator Feinstein,” State Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. He praised “his entire life dedicated to public service, which has made our country fairer, safer and stronger. »
